Taxol treatment of experimental proliferative vitreoretinopathy

• Published in: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology Vol. 228; no. 6; p. 513
• Main Authors: Daniels, S A, Coonley, K G, Yoshizumi, M O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.01.1990
• Subjects: Alkaloids - therapeutic use; Animals; Dimethyl Sulfoxide - administration & dosage; Female; Fibroblasts - transplantation; Male; Paclitaxel; Rabbits; Random Allocation; Retinal Detachment - etiology; Retinal Detachment - prevention & control; Retinal Diseases - complications; Retinal Diseases - drug therapy; Time Factors; Vitrectomy; Vitreous Body - drug effects
• ISSN: 0721-832X
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00918482

Taxol is a potent stabilizer of microtubules, and inhibitor of in vitro replication, migration, and contraction of fibroblasts. It has been found to limit the development of experimental tractional retinal detachments in nonvitrectomized rabbit eyes. We used taxol in vitrectomized, phakic rabbit eyes with experimentally induced proliferative vitreoretinopathy and tractional retinal detachments. Taxol was dissolved in 30% DMSO because of poor aqueous solubility. A single 0.1 ml intravitreal dose of 2 x 10(-4) M taxol in 30% DMSO was injected immediately after 250,000 heterologous corneal fibroblasts had been injected; 0.1 ml of 30% DMSO was injected into control eyes. Taxol reduced the incidence of tractional retinal detachments seen 3-4 weeks later. When taxol injection was delayed for 3 days after the initial intravitreal injection of fibroblasts into nonvitrectomized eyes, the extent of retinal detachments was reduced, but the incidence of retinal detachment was unchanged from the untreated eyes at the end of 4 weeks. These data indicate that taxol may be most useful when given early in the course of proliferative vitreoretinopathy.